Commitment to Gaza ceasefire agreement hinges on Israel’s compliance, says Hamas leader
The leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip has stressed that the Palestinian resistance movement’s commitment to and respect for the ceasefire agreement requires obligating Israel to abide by the accord and refrain from its ongoing crimes and atrocities against the Palestinians.
His remarks on Saturday evening come as the Hamas leadership has established intensive contacts with mediators and other international parties, in which the group has vigorously rejected and condemned Israel’s behavior and its continued aggression against the Gaza Strip.
Hayya said Hamas has underlined that Israel bears full responsibility for the failure to reach a solution to the issue of the resistance fighters in Rafah, who are positioned in an area under the Israeli military control.
In his communications with mediators and international actors, Hayya warned against the repercussions of near-daily crimes and massacres carried out by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, as well as flagrant violations of the ceasefire agreement.
The senior Hamas leader emphasized the need to compel Israel to stop such violations.
Earlier in the day, Hamas roundly dismissed Israeli claims that recent bombings in Gaza are a “response” to the resistance movement’s violations of the ceasefire agreement, emphasizing that such allegations “are nothing but a blatant and pathetic attempt to justify the horrific massacres against civilians” in the coastal sliver.
“These baseless and flimsy claims confirm the [Israeli] occupation’s contempt for the mediators, the guarantor states, and all the parties involved in what is called the Board of Peace,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qasem said in a statement.
Since the ceasefire took effect in early October last year, Israeli strikes have killed 524 Palestinians and wounded 1,360 others, committing 1,450 violations, the Gaza media office stated on Saturday.
The media office added that the Israeli army has abducted 50 Palestinians since the agreement took effect, kidnapping them from areas far from the so-called “yellow line” and from within residential neighborhoods.
Concerning the humanitarian protocol, the office reported that Israel has permitted 28,927 trucks for aid, commercial goods, and fuel to enter, from a total of 66,600 trucks stipulated in the agreement, reflecting a compliance rate of 43%.
The Gaza ceasefire agreement ended a two-year Israeli genocidal war that killed nearly 71,800 Palestinians and wounded more than 171,480 others
The bloody campaign has destroyed roughly 90% of the civilian infrastructure in the coastal territory, with UN estimates placing reconstruction costs at about $70 billion.